New Rules for Non Profits:

Linda Ziskind

Tips for Navigating a Changed World

Brother, can you spare $11.32 billion?*

*According to a report from the Giving USA Foundation, total charitable

giving fell to $303.76 billion in 2009, down from $315.08 billion in 2008.

Nonprofits faced unprecedented, simultaneous challenges over the past couple of years:

Nonprofits faced unprecedented, simultaneous challenges over the past couple of years:

The ongoing recession has reduced federal, state, and corporate funding dollars

Nonprofits faced unprecedented, simultaneous challenges over the past couple of years:

The ongoing recession has reduced federal, state, and corporate funding dollars

Soaring and prolonged unemployment, mortgage defaults, and diminished net worth due to the battered market and investment advisor malfeasance has resulted in diminished individual donations

Nonprofits faced unprecedented, simultaneous challenges over the past couple of years:

The ongoing recession has reduced federal, state, and corporate funding dollars

Soaring and prolonged unemployment, mortgage defaults, and diminished net worth due to the battered market and investment advisor malfeasance has resulted in diminished individual donations

The high response rate and amount donated towards aid in the recent string of natural disasters has created a bit of donor fatigue

The Results:

*Johns Hopkins University Center for Civil Society Studies, “Recession Pressures Non Profit Jobs” 7/14/2010 **Nonprofit Finance Fund Survey 2010 ***Paul C. Light, professor of public service at NYU

The Results:

Nearly 40% of nonprofit organizations currently lack adequate staff to deliver programs & services*

*Johns Hopkins University Center for Civil Society Studies, “Recession Pressures Non Profit Jobs” 7/14/2010 **Nonprofit Finance Fund Survey 2010 ***Paul C. Light, professor of public service at NYU

The Results:

Nearly 40% of nonprofit organizations currently lack adequate staff to deliver programs & services*

61% of nonprofits have 3 months, or less, of available cash reserves.**

*Johns Hopkins University Center for Civil Society Studies, “Recession Pressures Non Profit Jobs” 7/14/2010 **Nonprofit Finance Fund Survey 2010 ***Paul C. Light, professor of public service at NYU

The Results:

Nearly 40% of nonprofit organizations currently lack adequate staff to deliver programs & services*

61% of nonprofits have 3 months, or less, of available cash reserves.**

*Johns Hopkins University Center for Civil Society Studies, “Recession Pressures Non Profit Jobs” 7/14/2010 **Nonprofit Finance Fund Survey 2010 ***Paul C. Light, professor of public service at NYU

It has been predicted that more than 100,000 nonprofit groups will fail between November 2008 and November 2010.***

But peeking out from behind all of that grimness is a bit of sun.

But peeking out from behind all of that grimness is a bit of sun.

Social Media

But peeking out from behind all of that grimness is a bit of sun.

Social Media

But peeking out from behind all of that grimness is a bit of sun.

Social Media Technology

But peeking out from behind all of that grimness is a bit of sun.

Social Media Technology

But peeking out from behind all of that grimness is a bit of sun.

Social Media Technology

A new culture of participation,

collaboration, and shared information.

Embrace change and learn the new rules: organizations that reshape their strategies and tactics to meet new challenges are the ones that will survive and continue to be effective

Non profits and for profit businesses are beginning

to learn from each other’s best practices, so it’s

not surprising that the new rules for non profits are

a lot like the rules that successful businesses follow

The New Rules:

1.  Define your brand and mission.

The New Rules:

1.  Define your brand and mission.

2.  Incorporate businesses planning practices

a)  Develop concrete financial and program objectives

b)  Identify specific strategies and tactics for achieving

objectives

c)  Define criteria for success for each program

d)  Implement, review, analyze, revise

The New Rules:

1.  Define your brand and mission.

2.  Incorporate businesses planning practices

a)  Develop concrete financial and program objectives

b)  Identify specific strategies and tactics for achieving

objectives

c)  Define criteria for success for each program

d)  Implement, review, analyze, revise

3.  Strategically incorporate technology to enable increased staff

efficiency, operational economy, and access to valuable data.

The New Rules:

1.  Define your brand and mission.

2.  Incorporate businesses planning practices

a)  Develop concrete financial and program objectives

b)  Identify specific strategies and tactics for achieving

objectives

c)  Define criteria for success for each program

d)  Implement, review, analyze, revise

3.  Strategically incorporate technology to enable increased staff

efficiency, operational economy, and access to valuable data.

4.  Show appropriate appreciation to your donors

The New Rules:

1.  Define your brand and mission.

2.  Incorporate businesses planning practices

a)  Develop concrete financial and program objectives

b)  Identify specific strategies and tactics for achieving

objectives

c)  Define criteria for success for each program

d)  Implement, review, analyze, revise

3.  Strategically incorporate technology to enable increased staff

efficiency, operational economy, and access to valuable data.

4.  Show appropriate appreciation to your donors

5.  Embrace innovation

The New Rules:

1.  Define your brand and mission.

2.  Incorporate businesses planning practices

a)  Develop concrete financial and program objectives

b)  Identify specific strategies and tactics for achieving

objectives

c)  Define criteria for success for each program

d)  Implement, review, analyze, revise

3.  Strategically incorporate technology to enable increased staff

efficiency, operational economy, and access to valuable data.

4.  Show appropriate appreciation to your donors

5.  Embrace innovation

6.  Be part of the culture of participation, collaboration, and

communication.

1.  Define your brand and mission.

•  Your brand identity is what distinguishes and identifies the soul of

your organization. It’s more than your logo, or website. It’s what

you say and how you say it. It’s your voice, your tone, your

programming, and your attitude. It’s how people think of you.

•  Your mission (or vision, or core ideology) is part of your brand and

defines everything you do. It isn’t the product you make or

service you provide – it’s the benefits they deliver. (i.e., Merck

doesn’t talk about pharmaceutical research or drug efficacy.

Their mission is: “We are in the business of preserving and

improving human life. All of our actions must be measured by our

success in achieving this goal.”

2.  Incorporate business planning practices.

  Clearly define your financial and program objectives

  Use those objectives as the guide for developing programs,

development, and fundraising strategies and tactics

  Develop criteria for to measure and evaluate success for

programs, events, and fundraising initiatives. Use that criteria to

analyze results, evaluate effectiveness, and revise strategies or

tactics as needed.

3.  Strategically incorporate technology to enable increased staff efficiency, operational economy, and access to valuable data.

  There is a potential goldmine of data waiting to be extracted,

analyzed, and used to help you generate more revenue, develop

more successful relationships, and operate more effectively.

  Donor database and member management software

  Project and event management software

  Email marketing programs

  Online donation programs

www.nten.org (Consumers Guide to Low Cost Donor Management Systems – pdf) www.techsoup.org www.constantcontact.com www.basecamphq.com www.networkforgood.org

4. Show appropriate appreciation to your donors

  Stay in touch with donors, even if they can’t give as much as they

did at one time

4. Show appropriate appreciation to your donors

  Stay in touch with donors, even if they can’t give as much as they

did at one time

  Make sure donors understand the direct impact of their gift – show

them how they have impacted your mission.

4. Show appropriate appreciation to your donors

  Stay in touch with donors, even if they can’t give as much as they

did at one time

  Make sure donors understand the direct impact of their gift – show

them how they have impacted your mission.

  Say thank you frequently and meaningfully

4. Show appropriate appreciation to your donors

  Stay in touch with donors, even if they can’t give as much as they

did at one time

  Make sure donors understand the direct impact of their gift – show

them how they have impacted your mission.

  Say thank you frequently and meaningfully

  Engage donors continuously – fundraising isn’t seasonal – it’s

always

5.  Embrace innovation.

  Non profits are facing unprecedented challenges on all fronts and

are finding that their established processes are falling short in

addressing them

  Foundation grantors and individual donors are increasingly

requiring evidence of program effectiveness

  As more and more people gravitate towards social media,

organizations must get better at finding and engaging them

there

  Reduced budgets and staffing makes it imperative to find

more efficient ways of operating

5.  Embrace innovation.

  Survival requires developing or finding, and then incorporating,

innovative new solutions to address challenges

  Research peer organization best-practices

  Implement accountability and evaluation processes

  Conduct an honest evaluation of your programs, fundraising,

marketing, and operations and look for new strategies and

solutions for the ones that aren’t successful

  Look for silos in your organization and find ways of integrating

efforts

  Find opportunities to collaborate

6.  Be part of the culture of participation, collaboration, and communication.

  Marketing communication is not longer a passive channel.

People respond when they feel engaged and can

participate.

  Don’t drown in the social media ocean. Be practical about

how much you can handle.

  Your constituents expect transparency. Use social media to

provide that.

  Use social media channels to tell a compelling story:

  Twitter (TwitCause)

  YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/nonprofits)

  Flickr

  Facebook

Example: Brigham & Women’s Hospital in Boston

Example: Brigham & Women’s Hospital in Boston

Example: Brigham & Women’s Hospital in Boston

Example: 92nd Street Y in New York City

Example: 92nd Street Y in New York City

Example: 92nd Street Y in New York City

Example: Achilles International in New York City

Example: Achilles International in New York City

New Rules for Non Profits: Tips for Navigating a Changed World

Linda Ziskind July 20, 2010